It is common to hear people say that they need more money. Fundamentally, I don’t blame though for I am one of them. This economy is extremely unforgiving; indeed, we need more money to survive. Even in developed countries such as America, we often hear stories of people holding down two to three jobs. Money is important and it is extremely childish to think otherwise.
But you know, as we pursue our successes in life, do we perhaps emphasise the money more than the success itself? Let me explain with an example. A young girl perhaps dreams of being a singer. She has all the right minerals to become a big singing sensation one day. But she realises that the entertainment industry is a ruthless, unforgiving, God-forsaken industry.
She meets fellow female singers. These singers do not have the same attributes as her and they know it. And so, they use her. They suggest that they should form a band together. That way, they can leverage each other’s clout. However, this is all a game. They are actually using her as a ticket to get into the boardrooms of music executives. She is a tool to these girls. And unlike her, these girls do not mind staying at 5-star hotels with these executives in order to get that allusive contract. Because of this, she gradually loses motivation and quits pursuing her purpose.
In this short example, there are two key elements. The first one is the obvious one of the main character, the young gifted lady. The other element is that of her competitors who posed as her friends. The two embody the battle between purpose and money.
The young girl was gifted to sing. She knew though that talent is not enough. We assume that she went for singing lessons. We assume that she went to the gym and went to spas to keep her sex appeal at its finest. We assume that she blended her talent with hard work. And from this standpoint, we can see her purpose manifest.
And so, believing in her talents and wishing that her talents will get her the material life she desires, she ventures into the entertainment industry. Once she enters the industry, she is met with the realities of the industry. This is where the money comes in.
Money, at the end of the day, is man-made. It is a creation of civilisation. Money does not come from the Heavens. Money is not God-made. God is Love therefore money lacks this component of love. Money is cold and indifferent to human emotions. Hence I find it foolish to listen to these idiots on the radio or YouTube stating that you can call money. Affirmations? Money is coming my way? Those ones. How can you call on a lifeless entity? It doesn’t make sense to me.
One has studied quite a number of success stories and success theories to realise that affirmations are philosophies that the rich teach the poor to remain poor. While we chant “Money is coming my way; I am a magnet of money,” the rich go out and actually make money.
Think of it like this: you buy a R500 ticket to a motivational session. And let’s assume that in the session, there are a total of 5000 people there. For the whole 3 hours, you guys are chanting and yelling all these affirmations. You see, you’ll leave the conference with a temporary good feel. Kinda like going to the club, you’ll feel good that evening but not so much the next morning. While the motivational speaker on the other hand, at the end of that 3-hour session, he or she will walk away with R2 500 000.
And that’s my current issue with most motivational talks out there. You see, life is in living. When we pursue money, we are no longer living for money is not a living entity. However, life is in living so in your living if you need money, money will be available as an entity to facilitate the living of your life.
That concept isn’t as “deep” as it sounds. Let’s say, right now you have a focus to go somewhere. Let’s say that you want to travel to Durban at the end of the year. The likelihood is that you’ll begin searching for travel packages to Durban on the Internet.
And so, suddenly, you’ll begin to see these travel packages on your socials. And no, it’s not the universe. It’s the fact that our phones are data collection hubs. And this data is shared across the apps we have on our phones. So, seeing more of the travel packages and “top 10 things to do in Durban” lists is not the universe aligning with your thoughts. It’s algorithms and technology.
The more you see these travel packages, the more the desire will strengthen in you to go. And therefore, the desire will well up to the point of no return. You’ll actually begin to plan the trip. You’ll calculate how much it is for you to fully enjoy the trip and begin saving accordingly.
Again, more money won’t suddenly come your way. Instead, within your current budget, you’ll see where you can cut costs and save. Perhaps you notice that buying lunch every day isn’t worth it. You realise that R50 a day on lunch equates to R250 a week. Over a month, that’s a thousand. So, for ten months, that’ll be R10 000 saved for your trip.
And therein is how money facilitates the living of life. We can’t bypass the laws of economics and expect money to fall from the trees. That’s not how the economy works. And this is key cause this is where many of us tend to miss it.
All of us, or most of us, have a deeper feeling for something greater than waking up, working for a corporation that knows us by employee number, and going to sleep. Deep in our souls, we know that we are called for greater things. But we quickly get caught believing that our purpose should be the one feeding us. We fall into the illusion that money comes from our purpose.
Yes, to a great extent, this is true. But also to an even greater extent, the laws of economy still apply. The laws of nature of purpose still apply too. For the singer mentioned above, she needs to not only work on her talent but learn the power games that greedy executives in the entertainment industry play. She needs to learn how to navigate that tough environment in order to survive. She’ll have to spend enough time with those who have worked and managed to pierce through the industry to learn how to work the system in her favour.
Her singing alone will not cut it. And many artists have even said that music is not where they make money. So, she’ll have to ask herself if that’s the path she wants. However, talents such as singing are associated with celebrity fame. So, the young lady might believe that for her talent, and her purpose to mean something, she needs that fame.
And fundamentally, this is not true. Her talents can be used for other things. She could sing for old people whose children have abandoned them at old age homes. She could sing for kindergarten children who are still learning how to be human. She can use her talents elsewhere where she’ll feel alive. And because of this, life is in living therefore the money she needs will avail itself to her.
Again, not through supernatural “the floodgates of Heaven opening up” propaganda. The money will flow for her to live. She will get paid by the old age homes. She will get paid by the schools. Money will flow to allow her to live within her purpose. Yes, the money might not be celebrity money, but I believe it will be good enough money.
The danger we do is that we chase the money believing that we need money to fulfil our purpose. Let’s add a twist to our singer. If she believed that she needs money to sing, she’ll probably never sing. Because she won’t get money in the first place. What she needs to do is to sing first and then attach a monetary value to her singing. And she needs to be realistic about this as well.
And this is where the laws of economics will come into play. If your voice and singing can command over 100 people to move emotionally, is your voice and singing worth R1 000 000? However, if your voice and singing can command over 1 000 000 people to move emotionally, is your voice and singing worth R1 000 000? In this insistence, of course, it is.
But what did it take to get to a position where your voice and singing can command 1 000 000 people? It probably took a lot of work. It probably took you 6 to 7 years creating TikTok videos and Reels of you singing cover songs of your favourite songs. It probably took you getting paid with lunch and free meetings with famous singers for 6 to 7 years to sing at gigs and local shows. It probably took you consistency in refining your singing every single day in order to perfect the movement of your vocal cords to arouse certain emotions in the audience in the way you want to. It certainly did not happen overnight or within a year or two.
Unless you have rich parents to buy your success then that’s a different story. But for the average man or woman, success is 10 000 hours of practice. And when you listen to most artists and sports athletes, this narrative holds true. AKA, some of us remember AKA around 2004 when he was part of Entity. A lot of people say that AKA really blow up 7 years later with “Victory Lap”. Kwesta, likewise, we knew him around those years, around 2007 or so. But he too says that he eventually blew up with “Ngud” which was released in 2016.
There are examples of many other successful individuals, both local and international, across various professions that prove the 10,000-hour rule. Eminem in “Lucky You” says that he never rapped for trophies but for the recognition. In the next line, he opens by asking what’s the difference? Indeed, what is the difference between street rappers saying you are the best and even professional music bodies saying the same? The difference is that professional music bodies not only say you are the best, but they also add credibility too. And that credibility comes with a bigger paycheck.
The key lesson is that, in most cases, successful people work on perfecting their craft. And we are social creatures, if we feel inspired by your craft, we will share it with family and friends. Eventually, this network will get so large and wide that the laws of economy will begin to manifest. Your craft will be a limited supply because it’s only you are providing it. But the demand will be so much that money will need to regulate and find an equilibrium that your supply will meet your demand.
Successful people did not call on money. Yes, some believe in the laws of attraction and some of them genuinely believe that they visualised their success. Then you meet individuals such as Kobe Bryant, Kevin Hart, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson, Iron Mike and Michael Jordan who say that in as much they visualised success, they attribute their success to their hard work ethic.
And that work ethic is what most of us do not want to engage in. Therefore, we no longer pursue our God-given purpose and end up pursuing money. Money makes more sense than our purpose. We are faced with the harsh realities of life. We need money to buy food. We need money to afford safe and adequate shelter. What will our purpose bring us?
Yet, if we hold on to our purpose, we will live the life of our dreams. Our purpose is God-given. Therefore, if we begin pursuing our purpose, we will begin to live. And life is in living. Like the Durban example we used, we will find ourselves giving more to our purpose and our purpose will give more to us for the sake of its survival. Unlike the dead entity that is money, our purpose breathes life because it was given to us by a force that created us.
This is where we walk with eyes of faith and not of sight. This is where we remove ourselves from the centre and insert our purpose there. Like the Sun warming Earth, giving it life, so should our purpose. Our purpose should be the Sun of our own solar system that gives us life.
Obviously, let’s not get washed away with the supernatural and remember that we are in this man-made world. We are no longer dwellers of a natural world. So, if we work from 8 until 4, we need to find time before 8 or after 4 to dedicate to our purpose. We still need the 8 to 4 (if you are fortunate to have one) to buy essentials and get by.
However, we should try not to be held captive by the 8 to 4 or the 9 to 5. We should try to remember that we are God-created beings. Like the masters before us, we are on this planet to create and contribute to society.
The world of today is robbing us of this God-given responsibility. Robots can create furniture quicker than a traditional carpenter. Social media can rob creativity by not allowing the mind to be idle. An idle mind is able to wander deep into the subconscious. It is the subconscious where some of the world’s greatest artists found inspiration for their works of art.
There are a myriad of man-made elements that are robbing us of our God-given attributes. Inasmuch we need money, inasmuch we need material things, we should not forget our purpose. Our purpose, when pursued, can give us more than what we need to live. Look at nature for example. A single seed can bear multiple fruits. A seed is God created. Even lab-created seeds cannot create the same quantity and quality as the seeds found in nature.
As difficult as it is, we need to learn to have faith in our purpose. Money will flow. And again, not from some supernatural floodgate or bank. As your purpose builds and serves those around you, the laws of economics will unfold. We need only follow our purpose. Then only will we be truly alive.
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